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1) Louie is a 44-year old comedian who we find on the road some Friday night banging one of the comedy club groupies, checking his watch wondering if when he’s done it’ll be too late to order room service?
2) He has so much going well in his life (hit show, award nominations, money, sold-out stand-up shows) yet no one, but his two young daughters, to share it with.
3) He works hard but mostly he’s gotten along in life with lots of luck and by skating thru bad situations with his boyish charm and humor.
4) Meredith Good is a driven, but struggling, author who is working on her second book-The Good Life- about her theories on happiness.
5) Even though naturally optimistic, she’s compelled to try and figure life out and stay in control because her chaotic childhood and the death of a beloved boyfriend in her 20’s has kept her from trusting that things work out.
6) It’s late at night and she is cuddled up on her couch watching a scene from Adaptation where the “loser” twin brother (both played by Nicolas Cage) is describing how: you are what you love, not what loves you.
by jamesdutoit
7) She tears up thinking about how she has always held herself back from ever even contemplating giving in to unrequited love.
8) After another awkward morning waking up next to a stranger, Louie begs his therapist to cut to the chase and tell him how to get his masturbation, meaningless sex, and over-eating under control.
9) The therapist tells him that his anxiety stems from having lived an undisciplined life, regularly indulging in whims while completing avoiding cleaning up any of his messes.
10) If he could learn to take more control and responsibility over his life and issues instead of denying anything that causes him anxiety, he’ll not only curb these destructive habits but will be more likely to attract someone he can really connect with.
11) Meredith is with her agent talking about how stuck she is finishing the book because she doesn’t have the perfect happy ending yet; but typical of her, she has a plan and gives herself the next year to learn to live “the good life”.
12) She’s committed that by the time the book comes out and she turns 40 she’ll have practiced all the principles in it (writers rarely practice what they preach, they’re just good at finding the words to write about it) and have a few good stories for her book tour. She’s determined to give up being such a control freak and resolves to try and just have more faith in others, life, love, and the Universe.
13) Meredith decides to experiment and test one of her happiness theories regarding non-attachment and overcoming disappointment by corresponding with someone she is intrigued by but knows is absolutely not her type, has no future with, and is certain will not respond to her as he lives in NYC, follows no one on Twitter, and is rather a grouch. She declares this year she’ll learn to love Louie just for the hell of it.
14) After a few flirty, witty, and brilliant tweets from Meredith, Louie decides to Google her and finds her blog about her new book and stories about one of her techniques called Me Mapping.
15) The concept involves diagraming out one’s life on a big sketchpad and sorting out what’s working and what’s not. Along with analyzing the meaning we’ve assigned to our life stories, it also includes making amends for any meanness we’ve brought into our relationships. He decides this will be a good way for him to gain some control of his life.
16) Over the next year, she communicates with him thru social media; he never responds back but unbeknownst to her is following her every adventure online and is not only using her happiness techniques, but also begins to fall for her. He resists though telling his therapist she’s not for him, he’s doesn’t go for the good girls, he’s use to feeling bad about his relationships. He’d rather just absorb her from afar and not ruin it.
17) Louie creates a Me Map of his life and decides he will get complete with anyone he has outstanding dramas with. He makes amends with his arch-nemesis
18) He reconnects with his former best friend who he had a falling out with a decade ago over jealousy
19) And apologizes to his ex-wife for how he blamed her for the end of the marriage. In a very touching scene he tells her that it was easy to blame her since she was the one who left but that he had given her a thousand reasons to over the years.
20) He is so sweet, open, and sincere she’s uncomfortable thinking he wants to get back together. He tells her he doesn’t want to reconcile: I just want you to know how much I loved you when we conceived the girls and I will always love you for bringing them into my life. He promises to appreciate her as their mother and hopes they can be supportive with each other for the girls’ sake.
21) Each encounter relieves his anxiety exponentially and is so poignant, funny, and profound that he begins to incorporate the experiences in to some of his show’s episodes.
22) Meredith redesigns her Me Map to stop playing things so safe, she: ends things with her dead-end lover in anticipation of one more suited for her; gives up her longtime lease in hopes her ideal apartment will appear; and lets her friends plan the yearly reunion she’s usually in charge of. She’s not only writing like never before she is relaxing and enjoying her life.
23) On Thanksgiving Louie’s girls are with their mother so he practices another one of Meredith’s techniques of writing a Thanksgiving List and calling his friends to tell them what they mean to him.
24) He calls Chris Rock who is very touched by how uncharacteristically appreciative Louie is being but is concerned he sounds so different: is he suicidal? No, it’s just that for the first time I’m beginning to actually take a look at my life; turns out just letting things happen and not cleaning up my shit made me kind of a cowardly dick. I think I’m sort of growing a new set of balls, albeit fuzzy ones.
25) After a year passes with them each working on their own stuff… Louie wins a Golden Globe for his show and in his speech he talks about Meredith and thanks her for helping him see himself as a good man.
27) The next morning she’s on the phone with her agent on her way to a book signing and tells her: No I haven’t heard from him- I can’t believe he even knows who I am-
28) besides, I’m in New York, he’s in LA, and tonight I’m on my way back to Chicago. Not to mention I’m practicing trust in the Universe… sure old me would have tracked him down and been measuring for drapes- but new me is trusting if it’s meant to be, he’ll have to just find me.
29) She’s in emptying bookstore at the end of the book signing packing up getting ready to leave and he comes up from back of store where he has been there waiting for her the whole time.
30) He taps her on shoulder, she turns around, they smile: Hi. Hi. Do you think you might want to grab a drink? They have huge hug. Yes, that would be perfect. Leave holding hands…. THE END
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